centro storico

We went on Truffles time. Was a very Nice experience. The street market sells a lot of things besides the truffles.

This small village and its' Centro Storico, is easy to walk through and see most of what it has to offer. There is convenient parking around and throughout. This middle age town is known for its truffle festival (weekends) in October and showcases both mushrooms and local wines in many of its' shops. If you are here on the weekend the festival is nice but the town is still worth a visit if you are studying the area and traveling though the beautiful country side and other small towns like Bra, Saluzzo, Acqui Terme etc. It is an easy drive from Turin.

The old city centre of Alba is not too big, which makes it walkable and enjoyable. It's quite well organised, a nice central square, shops, restaurants and historic sites throughout the city.Best enjoyed at night of course!

Centro Storico ALBA has thankfully, sensibly maintained its medieval character and is a lovely place to walk. Lots of squares, stores, cafés, and delis to enjoy. Window and real shopping abounds, everything is ON SALE NOW. We went during a a Truffle Fair weekend and while busy it wasn't crazy. American tourists definitely a minority. More Europeans and Japanese. Very friendly folks to engage for directions, places to see, shop and eat. A great base for touring both Langhe and Roero wine regions. Only an hour from Turin (provided you avoid the rush hour traffic).

In the center of the village of Serralunga. Only 3 tables. Seats 14; possibly more if all in one party. Good selection of wines very modestly priced. Excellent comfort food reasonably priced. Can add white truffles at modest prices. Wonderful find.

The old city center is car free, and a delight for walking. Park the car on the perimeter in a very big public lot. Some free parking spaces exist, but paid parking is very cheap, and free on Sundays. Besides the museum and underground tour, there are two very large churches, almost right next to each other. The more important one was always well maintained, but the only slightly smaller one was taken by Napoleon for use as a stable for his horses, and it never recovered. The big beautiful one has free entry, while the damaged smaller one asks you to pay a few Euro to help with private restoration efforts. Pay the small entry fee, and the docent will explain the history of the area (in Italian language).

Well is not easy as it seems to evaluate a downtown but in this case we can sum it up in one word...Fascinating.Just walk in the old hart of Alba and you'll fell surrounded by ancient piemontese history.Try it and you'll have a very pleasent afternoon

Can't recommend Centro Storico enough. It is really small but great food and the owner is great fun, friendly and very knowledgeable about the local wine (many producers eat and drink there)

We stopped in Alba during our tour of the Langhe region. Most other towns on our trip were small, quaint and quiet. Alba seems to be the hub of shopping and business of the region. Beautiful churches and very well preserved buildings with lots of character. Lots of hotels and restaurants.

Great Cathedral, Shopping for truffles, local specialties and regional wines, bar scene with great food, lively night life for teenagers.

287241384 Great area to wander and find fun shops and restaurants! The food was so wonderful! Don't miss the Saturday morning market if you like shopping for fun clothes, jewelry, and shoes at reasonable prices.

I went during the truffle festival, and I highly recomend it... The streets Samuel like truffle and wine and a medieval fair is set in the main square.

Alba is a city of towers, the culinary capital of the Langhe, famous for its truffles, and – well – sort of a pain to get to. Here’s what you need to know and a few pleasant surprises the moment you step off the train.Andiamo! Let’s Get You There.I’m guessing your primary objective for venturing outside of Milano or Torino is for a hearty wine tour, home base: Centro Storico in Alba. I suppose you’ll be drinking plenty of vino but the thought of trekking around in a car rental while under the influence let alone navigating around the hilly, twisty & often street sign-less landscape of Piemonte means one thing: taking the train. On a map, it seems pretty simple: a relatively straight-forward 150 km jaunt from Milano to Alba (via Asti), except one thing: there’s no express train at this time between Asti & Alba. There used to be a direct tunnel; apparently, it collapsed, which means you’ll need to head further west, stopping in Torino first. So, to start your adventure, set aside a good 3 1/2 hours and consider this:1. Book a ticket from Milano Centrale to Alba, first stop: Torino Porto Nuovo (appx 1 hr 50 min).Hint: If you’re using a credit card at an automatic teller, find out what your PIN number is (yes, you have one; you just don’t use it often – if ever – in the States). Call your bank. You’ll need this to “free the code” & purchase your ticket. Sad & frustrated were many tourists who did not know their credit card’s pin code & not paying through a live teller at the main ticket office).2. From Torino (Porto Nuovo), look for the train headed through Cavallermaggiore (appx. 30 min).Hint: Cavallermaggiore’s just one town along one of many lines; it’s not necessarily a final destination. Ask an attendant or look at a map showing which line runs through this blip of a town. You’ll want the train going to the end of this line through Cavallermaggiore.3. Get off at Cavallermaggiore and look for the training headed in the opposite direction towards Alba.Hint: As with all trains in Italy, the window for transferring is typically short. Your ticket may not indicate which platform this is and the info. in Cavallermaggiore can be limited. While you’re likely to be dropped off in the center platform, the train to Alba (marked in LED on the cars itself) may already be sitting on the other platform. We loitered around for 15 minutes before we finally noticed this & barely made the train with 2 minutes to spare. Better get going!Congratulazioni, You Made It!Now, head right for the Centro Storico, grab a glass of vino with a plate of prosciutto crudo e melone there or in a nearby piazza where al fresco dining abounds.

We liked wandering through the historical section of Alba and especially enjoyed the huge Saturday market.

Stone paved streets and plenty of pedestrian walking areas - Alba is small enough that you can easily visit the entire centro storico in 45 minutes or so.